Realizing Our Mission

Being on the road somehow or other always seems to open up my consciousness. It never fails. This is one of reasons that I love traveling and preaching so much. Right now it is 6pm on 30 September 2009. We are on the road from Kaunas, Lithuania to Vilnius, Lithuania where I will be giving a lecture tonight on the most amazing transcendental science of Krishna consciousness. One of the nicest perks of being a traveling lecturer is that the more one gives Krishna consciousness to others, the more he gets Krishna consciousness. In fact, sharing the science of Krishna is so powerful that it guarantees one entrance into the spiritual world. Krishna confirms this as follows in the Bhagavad-gita:
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ
mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati
bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā
mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ

"For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me."--Bhagavad-gita 18.68

One might wonder if this applies also to sharing this science with non-devotees. The answer is that it does because actually every living throughout the entire universe is already a devotee. It is just that some realize it and some do not. Now it is our duty to make sure that everyone realizes it. This is our mission.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Can We Use Slang When Preaching?

Please accept my humble obeisances.

Sir, when the chanter introduces Krishna consciousness to friends is it okay for the chanter to use modern-day slang words such as "cool", "what's up", etc. to which the friend is habituated to make Krishna consciousness more easily understood?

Regards,
Sunil

Answer: Connect With and Elevate the Listener

It is always cool to present Krishna consciousness using language that will make it most comprehensible and attractive to the audience. And at the time if we present it directly in the words given in the Vedic literature, that will make it most powerful and attractive. For example when glorifying the holy name we can quote the following verse written by Srila Rupa Goswami:

tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī ratiṁ vitanute tuṇḍāvalī-labdhaye
karṇa-kroḍa-kaḍambinī ghaṭayate karṇārbudebhyaḥ spṛhām
cetaḥ-prāṅgaṇa-saṅginī vijayate sarvendriyāṇāṁ kṛtiṁ
no jāne janitā kiyadbhir amṛtaiḥ kṛṣṇeti varṇa-dvayī

"I do not know how much nectar the two syllables 'Krish-na' have produced. When the holy name of Krishna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert."

So we should do both. We should connect with the people by using the language they are familiar with, and then we can introduce them to the sublime Vedic language. This is the process known as education. Connect with the listener on his level, and then elevate him to a higher level.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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